Transforming musculoskeletal health: Applied health research

What do these awards provide?

The focus of this call is on applied health research relevant to people with arthritis. These awards support research whose intended primary outcomes will lead to improvements in the quality of life of people with arthritis and/or contribute to the evidence base of knowledge that will lead to improvements relevant to people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions.

Who can apply?

Any academic, clinician or allied health care professional at an eligible UK institution can apply. The lead applicant must be based at an eligible UK institution. Individuals who are employed by, or whose salary derives from, a commercial organisation are not eligible to apply for an Arthritis Research UK award but may be included as a co-applicant. Please note all applications must have a lead applicant or another co-applicant that is tenured.

What can you apply for?

Awards are for up to £400,000 and up to 48 months in duration. Applications greater than £400,000 need prior agreement from the Arthritis Research UK office before submission. We anticipate very few applications to be above the limit. Submitted applications that are greater than £400,000 without prior agreement will not be considered.

Salaries

Research staff and technical salaries (set by host institution) should be according to age and experience on the appropriate scientific or clinical salary scale.

A maximum spine point 43 on the national scale is allowed for postdoctoral research staff, special justification is required for funding senior postdoctoral research staff above point 37

London weighting allowance will be payable at the rate appropriate to each host institution

The percentage of inflation must be included in the application and be in line with the most recent pay award agreed by the institution (and no greater than 2% a year)

Expenses

Reasonable running costs

Small items of essential equipment may be requested up to a maximum cost £30,000. Any single item costing £5,000 or over must include a written estimate at full application stage

Any requests for computers must be fully justified and integral to the success of the research

Access charges for use of specialist equipment may be applied for within expenses

In line with other UK medical charities, Arthritis Research UK does not provide funds for directly allocated or indirect research costs, such as administrative costs or overheads

A list of eligible and ineligible costs can be found in the guidance document

How to apply

There is a two-stage application process. At the first stage, applicants are invited to submit an outline application which provides an overview of the project and funding requested. This should be submitted through our grants management system GrantTracker where the outline form is available. The deadline for the receipt of outline applications is 16:00 on 1 March 2017. Submissions after 16:00 will not be accepted.

Applicants will be informed of the outcome of the outline stage in May 2017 and successful applicants will be invited to submit a full application in GrantTracker to a deadline of 16:00 on 5 July 2017. Funding decisions are expected in December 2017.

For more information, go to www.arthritisresearchuk.org.Arthritis Research UK fund research into the cause, treatment and cure of arthritis. You can support Arthritis Research UK by volunteering, donating or visiting our shops.